Ishiko Mori

Ishiko Mori (毛利石子) (July 21, 1899 – January 6, 1972) was a Japanese physician and a correspondent for the Yomiuri Shinbun.

Early life and education

Mori was born Ishiko Shibuya on July 21, 1899 in Chiba, Japan. She was born to a family of physicians. Her parents died when she was young, so she was raised by her aunt and uncle. When she was a teenager, she decided to become a physician in order to avoid an arranged marriage to a much older man.[1] She studied at the Tokyo Women's College. When she graduated she was discouraged from practicing in Japan because women were only allowed to be either pediatricians or gynecologists.[2]

Career

In 1927, Mori moved to Hawaii and worked at the Japanese Hospital, which was later known as the Kuakini Medical Center. She met and married physician Motokazu Mori, and they had two children together. She returned to Japan for both births, and quit her job at the hospital to raise them.[2] Mori and her husband were also tanka poets, and she wrote under the penname "Shakunage".[3]

In 1934, she became the Yomiuri Shinbun's special correspondent in Hawaii.[4] On December 3, 1941, the newspaper asked her to interview influential Japanese people in Hawaii about conditions there. She asked the Consulate General and several others, but after they declined she asked Motokazu to do the interview.[5] On December 5, a reporter from the Yomiuri Shinbun called Motokazu to interview him about life in Hawaii. His answers seemed suspicious to FBI agents who were monitoring the call.[6] After Pearl Harbor was attacked two days later, both Ishiko and Motokazu were accused of espionage and arrested.[7] Mori was incarcerated at Sand Island, Sharp Park (California), and finally Crystal City Internment Camp.[8] She and Motokazu founded the camp's hospital, and Mori started a girl scout troop.[2]

Mori returned to Honolulu on December 10, 1945. Mori began working as a research assistant at the American Cancer Society.[5] She also continued writing for Japanese newspapers.[4] She continued working as Motokazu's health worsened. During the late 1940s and through the 1950s, her in-laws, her daughter Pearl, and Motokazu all died.[2] After Motokazu died, she transferred to the University of Hawaii's biomedical department as an epidemiology research assistant.[4]

In 1968 Mori was honored by the Japanese government for her work improving understanding between Japan and the United States.[2] She was diagnosed with lung cancer the next year. She died on January 6, 1972.

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References
  1. Wallace, Nina (May 22, 2017). "4 Bad Ass Issei Women You've Probably Never Heard of". Discover Nikkei. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  2. Notable women of Hawaii. Peterson, Barbara Bennett, 1942-. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 1984. ISBN 0-8248-0820-7. OCLC 11030010.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Poets behind barbed wire : Tanka poems. Nakano, Jiro; Nakano, Kay. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bamboo Ridge Press. 1983. ISBN 0-910043-05-1. OCLC 10020646.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Japanese American history : an A-to-Z reference from 1868 to the present. Niiya, Brian., Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.). New York: Facts on File. 1993. ISBN 0-8160-2680-7. OCLC 26853950.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. "Ishiko Shibuya Mori | Densho Encyclopedia". encyclopedia.densho.org. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  6. Waters, Mark (December 5, 1957). "Innocent phone call branded island woman a spy". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  7. Lord, Walter, 1917-2002. (1957). Day of infamy ([1st ed.] ed.). New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-03-027620-9. OCLC 365029.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Mori, Ishiko | Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii". interneedirectory.jcch.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
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